Thomas Crooks

Thomas Crooks
Photograph of Crooks taken by local law enforcement snipers an hour prior to the assassination attempt
Born
Thomas Matthew Crooks

(2003-09-20)September 20, 2003
DiedJuly 13, 2024(2024-07-13) (aged 20)
Meridian, Pennsylvania, U.S.
40°51′25″N 79°58′16″W / 40.857028°N 79.971°W / 40.857028; -79.971 (Site of the rally where Thomas Matthew Crooks was killed)
Cause of deathGunshot wound
EducationCommunity College of Allegheny County (AS)
Known forAttempted assassination of Donald Trump in Pennsylvania
MotiveUnknown
Details
DateJuly 13, 2024
LocationsNear Butler in Meridian, Pennsylvania
Killed1
Injured7 (3 from gunfire including Donald Trump, four officers injured by flying debris)
WeaponDPMS Panther Arms DR-15 16" M4 5.56x45mm/.223
Signature

Thomas Matthew Crooks (September 20, 2003 – July 13, 2024) was an American man who attempted to assassinate then-former U.S. president Donald Trump, who at the time was the presumptive Republican Party nominee for the 2024 presidential election.

On July 13, 2024, at a rally near Butler, Pennsylvania, Crooks shot at Trump with an AR-15–style rifle from a nearby rooftop while Trump was giving a speech. Crooks wounded Trump's ear and killed one attendee while critically injuring two others before being killed by a Secret Service counter sniper team. His motive remains unknown; the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) concluded its investigation in November 2025.

Very little information about Crooks was released to the public by the FBI. Public opinion polls show that over half of Americans believe that Crooks did not act alone. The assassination attempt has resulted in conspiracy theories.